A copy of the program listings are contained on 4 pages, 314 frames of microfiche film.
This invention relates to a computer simulator for electrical connectors and to a method for using such a simulator to allow a circuit designer to optimize pin selection for signals passing through the connector.
Electrical connectors have long been used in a wide variety of electronic circuits. In the past, electrical connectors have often been considered simply as an array of conductors, which do not contribute significantly to the operational characteristics of the electronic circuit in which they are used. However, as electronic switching speeds have increased, the electrical characteristics of electrical connectors have become an important part of circuit design.
The electrical characteristics of a connector are complicated by the fact that they are in part governed by the basic physical structure of the connector, but they are also in part governed by the manner in which the connector is used, and in particular by the pin selection made by the circuit designer The selection of the geometrical arrangement of the various signals among the signal paths provided by a connector can be an important part of an overall application design for an electrical connector.
In the past, computer simulation has been widely used to simulate individual electronic components, integrated circuits, and conductors on a printed circuit board. Such computer simulation allows a designer to simulate the operation of an electronic circuit before it is actually built. This conventional type of computer simulation is not, however, well suited for simulation of electrical connectors. This is because part of the electrical characteristics of the connector are determined by the manufacturer of the connector, who determines the connector geometry, and part of the electrical characteristics of the connector are determined by the user, who determines which signals will be applied to which pins of the connector. Thus, a need presently exists for an improved computer simulator that can be used to simulate both these aspects of an electrical connector, that will allow the user to simulate an electronic circuit including an electrical connector, and that will allow the user to select pins on the connector for desired signals. Such an interactive computer simulator for an electrical connector would greatly assist a user in optimizing pin selection and in simulating a complete electronic system, including both the electronic circuits and the connectors of the system.
In the past, non-interactive calculations have been used to predict the electrical characteristics of an electrical connector. For example, equivalent circuits for individual signal paths within a connector have been determined, and matrices have been used to determine capacitance effects of one signal path on another. However, such non-interactive calculations do not allow ready examination of the effects of different pin selections on the electrical characteristics of the connector.